Thanks for the shout out, MenuPages blog! I guess I’m back, although I didn’t go anywhere. I’ve just been entering into my winter malaise period. Heh heh.

Anyhoo, for those of you not familiar with MenuPages, its a great resource to have for checking out menus before visiting a restaurant. I’m always guilty of this and usually know what I’m going to order (aside from any specials) and how much my food will cost days before I actually eat it.

Chicago Map, Menupages.

The blog does a great job of summarizing local restaurant reviews each week and providing pontification on openings and closings, food trends, and other Chicago culinary news.

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Hey readers. What’s happening. I’ve decided to branch out a bit on No Olives in order to write more often. You see, I’m interested in other things besides food, and I’ve been writing on other topics and actually *getting paid* for it…so why not share here? Anyway, that’s the plan, so expect more frequent ramblings, including my take on everyone’s favorite foodie freak fest, Top Chef.

Today I’d like to address the topic of the holiday blahs. Back when I was a real life lawyer, working on all kinds of intense psychiatric defense cases, the term ‘general malaise’ was thrown around a lot. “Patient complained of general malaise before she ran in front of a car,” that sort of thing. Everyone experiences malaise at some point, but its usually brought to the forefront around this time of year. The holidays bring up memories, emotions, and feelings that you’d sometimes rather not feel. Experts say winter malaise, or Seasonal Affective Disorder, is the culmination of the body adjusting to cold winter conditions and being forced into a mundane daily routine because of those conditions. Whatever it is, its annoying. My sister deals with the blahs by using a light box, and I seem to deal with it by alternating between being a complete homebody or a complete control freak.

It’s on days like today that I need to remember that my life, and life in general, is a gift that can be taken away. By shedding expectations of myself and others, especially around the holidays, and realizing and accepting that things aren’t perfect, I’ll become more peaceful.

If you’re starting to feel these blahs and want to break free, go see “Slumdog Millionaire,” one of the most life-affirming movies that I’ve seen in years. Jamal, the hero of Danny Boyle’s new film, was orphaned as a young child due to religious strife, reduced to begging and stealing to survive on the streets, lost the love of his life… twice… and is now being tortured by police after being accused of cheating just one question away from taking the big prize on India’s version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” Despite this potentially depressing setup, Slumdog is the kind of movie that receives audience applause at the end. It’s heartbreaking, uplifting, and romantic. It’s the cure to these grey days and long nights.

Slumdog Millionaire, Image from NY Mag.

So keep a stiff upper lip, my friends. We’ve got a new president coming to Washington soon, people still want to fill the world with love stories, and Spring’s only a few months away.

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For a few months now, I’ve been curious about the little storefront on the corner of Ashland and Montrose, just a few blocks from our house. Every weekend, droves of hungry diners wait outside Mixteco Grill, the Mexican restaurant deemed by some critics as “Chicago’s new Frontera Grill.” Mixteco has received great press, and rightly so. Chef Raul Arreola is a veteran chef of Mexican cuisine, with stints at Topolobampo, Fonda del Mar and several other Chicago restaurants.

Choices at Mixteco are a bit scaled back with only a  hand full of selections: no combo dishes or platters here. Instead,  the menu leans towards rustic, simple dishes like wood-fired shrimp, sopes, empanadas, baby chicken with guajillo and pulled-beef chile rellenos. Mixteco is BYOB for the time being, so visit the liquor store conveniently located across the street. Reservations are strongly encouraged.

Diners at Mixteco, Chicago.

We started our meal with Guacamole Con Chicharron, avocado with tomato, serrano chiles, cilantro, onion and lime served with pork chicharron (deep fried pork belly). I was expecting the chicharron to be served on the side for dipping, but instead diced pieces were mixed into the guacamole. The addition didn’t do much for the appetizer; I found the guacamole to be underwhelming and a bit too mild. The accompaniments of radish, jiacama and cucumber were puzzling and didn’t add much in terms of either flavor or texture.

Sopes Trio, Mixteco Grill, Chicago.

We continued with three sopes (corn masa boats): two filled with chicken in a red mole sauce and one with mushrooms and a pasilla chile sauce. The otherwise neutral palletes of corn were elevated to showstopping status by a dose of the daring, smoky mole rojo, one of Chef Arreola’s signature mole sauces.

Pescado A La Verzcruzana, Mixteco Grill, Chicago.

A main course of Mahi Mahi, zucchini, fingerling potatoes and other vegetables, wrapped in parchment and then grilled, was outstanding. This is the kind of Mexican food that’s so difficult to find; un-Americanized, simple and delicate flavors with superior ingredients. The smooth poblano sauce served on the side offered quite a kick!

Enchiladas Rojas, Mixteco Grill, Chicago.

We also sampled Enchiladas Rojas: tender pieces of shredded chicken wrapped in fresh tortillas and bathed in chocolately, spicey mole. This dish was so basic, and at first seemed bland in comparison to the Mahi Mahi. But after a few bites, once the sweet spice settled on my tongue, I was hooked and couldn’t stop eating these suckers!

Add Mixteco to your list of places to try for either weekend brunch or dinner!

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Music is a catalyst, music is a therapist, music is a weapon.

Jenny Gillespie, Chicago 2008.

“Jenny Gillespie is a singer, songwriter, guitarist, imbroglio-seeker, nightfisher, enfant terrible, and humble loon. She embroiders words into the soil of chords, steals vivid scraps of her heart to feed a hungry melody, mimics the birdsong of messy muses, and would like for you to hear on her new forthcoming album, “‘Light Year.’”

Jenny has posted 4 free fully mastered tracks through bandcamp. The entire album will be available on iTunes and CD Baby on 1/1/09. Go to this link for the download.

I may be biased, as Jenny is my beautiful sister and best friend, and I know how hard she has worked on this project. But take a listen; Light Year grabs your core and squeezes.

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Woo hoo! Its official! No Olives has received over 10,000 hits since its inception in February! Thanks so much for making No Olives part of your day! As always, please feel free to email with any tips, restaurant suggestions, recipes, or food-related questions! Stay tuned for more food stories and photos soon. Thanks again for your support! 

-Abbey

Dragonfly Toast, Saugatuck, MI.

Aaah, love. Heart-thumping, gut-wrenching, the I’m-yours-you’re-mine-forever-and-all-time kind of love. Romantic love can ebb and flow; the monotony of everyday life, laundry, and bills can sometimes cool the flames. For me, planning my wedding with my Mr. Wonderful has become a fine, manic line between complete obsession and pulling myself back towards reality in fear of becoming Boring Bride: she who only communicates about THE WEDDING and forgets about the sentiment behind the event.

Some may scoff at the concept of “dating anniversaries,” but I think its important as a couple to remember and celebrate the origins of your coupledom. Since this year’s dating anniversary  with Aaron was our last to fete before our marriage, it was even more meaningful to us. Aaron surprised me with a reservation at Wellfleet, which bills itself as an “occasional restaurant.” I’d read about Wellfleet a few years ago in a Chicago Magazine article that highlighted such spots (Efrain Cuevos’ Clandestino dinner parties also come to mind). Wellfleet’s dinners are held every Friday at The Fish Guy, Chicago’s solution to fish mongering.

The Fish Guy, Chicago.

The Fish Guy, otherwise known as Bill Dugan, has been in the fish business for many years and has earned a stellar reputation in Chicago. Not only does the Fish Guy sell the freshest seafood in the city, but it also holds monthly sushi classes (led by Chef Leo Bariso), provides seafood to some of Chicago’s finest restaurants, and offers delicious take-out options like lobster rolls and fish tacos. The night that Aaron proposed, he brought home fresh oysters on the half shell and caviar from The Fish Guy. So, of course, I was extremely excited for this unique experience.

Wellfleet September 2008 Menu.

As we pulled onto Elston Avenue, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. Once we walked into the doors of The Fish Guy and realized that we were actually eating in the shop itself (with the fish removed from the counters), we eased in and popped open our bottle of Veuve Clicquot. Bill was extremely friendly and interested in our celebratory occasion, and was glad to talk about his career, ecological issues that impact seafood, and most importantly, the beautiful food that we enjoyed. Each dish featured The Fish Guy’s freshest selections, and each was simply amazing. Some, like the Chilled Heirloom Soup, were light and delicate, while others, like the Arugula Salad with Cortez Shrimp and Green Goddess dressing, were complex in flavor and totally addictive.

Scallops with Pico de Gallo, Wellfleet.

Chilled Heirloom Tomato Soup with Bay Scallop and Herb Swirl, Wellfleet.

Arugula Salad with Cortez Blue Shrimp and Green Goddess Dressing, Wellfleet.

Sashimi of Faroe Island Salmon, Lemonfish, Mano de Leon Scallop, and Rooftop Shiso, Wellfleet.

Golden Trout with Parma Pomme Puree, Wellfleet.

We were simply over the moon all through dinner. Aaron remarked to Bill that the sashimi reminded him of “a melting brass doorknob.” In general, this simile would be labeled as the hallucinogenic type, but Bill seemed to get the gist. The sashimi was velvety-smooth and would convert all raw fish phobics. I actually hugged both Bill and dear Chef Leo on my way out, and with sincerity told them this was the best meal I’d had in a long while.

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This is floating around the web, and I finally got around to finishing. Voila! There are some bizarre items listed, like Salted Lassi, Bagna Cauda, Gjetost/Brunost, and Pocky.

Luckily, there’s nothing on the list that I wouldn’t consider trying. I think its pretty interesting/funny that I’ve never actually had a Big Mac meal. That’s probably a good thing.

Instructions:
1. Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2. Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3. Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

The strange caterpillar on our garage door. (”Please don’t eat meeeeeeee!!”)

Next weekend, I’ll be attending Chicago Gourmet,  the only urban gourmet food and wine showcase with tastings, demonstrations and hands-on workshops in the U.S. open to the public . Hopefully, I’ll snag some interviews with chefs and sommeliers and of course, I’ll be documenting this fabulous event for my readers!

This inaugural annual event welcomes some of the world’s most esteemed culinary experts, fine-dining chefs and sommeliers. The two-day festival features celebrity chefs, international and world-renowned American chefs.  For wine aficionados and lovers, Frederick Dame, the first American Master Sommelier with three other Masters will offer tastings and seminars.

Chicago Bean, Millenium Park.

Here’s the great news: for No Olives readers, a special online promotion of 10% off is available with the promotional code: CG2008TEN. Tickets are available at www.chicagogourmet.org. If you’re interested in the latest in gourmet cooking and dining, this is the event to be at! Hope to see you there!

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In the summer of 2007, Efrain Cuevos left his job as an engineering consultant in San Francisco and moved back to his hometown of Chicago. He’d already returned to the city on a dozen occasions to present the Chicago branch of Ghetto Gourmet, one of the first underground supper clubs to capitalize on the recent renaissance of clandestine dining. While spearheading the Chicago division, Cuevos shared in the glory Ghetto Gourmet received. One Ghetto Gourmet guest, Nicola Copeland, the Chicago program coordinator for Careers Through Culinary Arts Program (C-CAP), was so impressed with Cuevos that she asked him to speak to a group of high school students participating in C-CAP’s after school program. Today, Cuevos is the after school culinary instructor at Simeon Career Academy, and has formed a “community dining project” called Clandestino. Inspired by Alice Waters’ Edible Schoolyard program, Cuevos’ mission is to pair the educational component of studying nutrition, organic gardening and culinary skills with the hands-on element of work-study.

Efrain Cuevos in Pilsen.

How did you get started as a chef?

The first time someone called me “Chef” was at a Ghetto Gourmet underground dinner party in San Francisco. I served a five-course aphrodisiac menu to fifty people at an art gallery in the Mission District. Before that, I was just someone who liked to cook at home for friends. Becoming a chef is a process though, something I am always struggling with. It’s not just a question of “can you cook great food?” Instead, you have to seek out the best ingredients, build a solid cooking team, and get to know your dinner guests. Plus, you are constantly educating yourself about food.

How did you get involved with the Careers through Culinary Arts program?

I got involved with C-CAP in the Spring of 2007 as a guest speaker. I visited Simeon high school to tell the kids about The Ghetto Gourmet and the concept of underground dining. Many of the students were planning on attending culinary school and I thought it was important for them to see another side of the culinary world that they didn’t know about. I was invited back to cook with the students and ultimately was hired to teach a class for the fall and spring semesters. We had a great year and I plan to continue teaching next school year. Although I joke that half of the kids show up only to eat, I really can recognize culinary talents and the desire to excel in the majority of them

What chef inspires you, and why?

Most chefs I meet inspire me. They all came to cooking in different ways and are passionate about food. What’s most inspiring to me is seeing someone cook without even stopping to think. I see this occasionally on TV, but TV chefs make it look so easy sometimes. I’m a big fan of Iron Chef, since its a decent representation of the fervor that exists on the kitchen line.

Efrain Cuevos in a friend’s garden.

What’s a normal day like for you at C-CAP?

Imagine showing up with bags of groceries from Whole Foods to a classroom of hungry high school kids who can actually cook like its nobody’s business. I normally have a menu planned for the day. Sometimes I give the students recipes, other times I verbally walk them through the recipes during class. They do all the cooking, although I usually have to remind them to season their food properly. Sometimes we go on field trips to a farmer’s market, a tortilla factory, or a bakery. I get a lot of joy from exposing the students to ingredients and food that they wouldn’t normally try. This past spring, we prepared spring lamb chops, seared then roasted, and served medium rare, of course. Students made their own white wine thyme and rosemary reduction to complete the dish. Some of the students LOVED the lamb and even saved a piece to take home, but other students were not thrilled about the presence of a little blood.

You’re still hosting private underground dinner parties. What is your goal with each party?

I try to make the dinner parties fun and interesting, but the main focus is always the food. The parties always turn out to be unique adventures with different combinations of people and palates. At my aphrodisiac dinner in Chicago last spring, we served the first course on nude models, much to the surprise of dinner guests. At an enchilada dinner last fall, one of the dinner guests turned out to be an opera singer from the Genesis Opera and sang a beautiful rendition of Gershwin’s Summertime. At a Valentine’s Day dinner last year, my best friend Kurt proposed to his girlfriend Marie. She said yes. Its moments like those that keep me cooking for others.

What is the mission of your community dining project, Clandestino?

It’s actually not much different than the mission of a restaurant. I want to provide a unique dining experience for my guests where they can experience exceptional food that’s prepared with the best ingredients and provide a place where collaborative cooks and students can improve their craft and cooking skills. We invite artists to display their work on the walls and musicians to perform between courses, but they are also dinner guests and sit down for all the courses.

Clandestino is also a place where we all learn about our food supply, where dinner guests and cooks are able to communicate directly with the farmers and growers that provide our ingredients. As a supper club, Clandestino is able to do things that a restaurant can’t do. We move around from place to place, essentially building a fine dining restaurant for one night only in different locations. This tends to spark unlikely incidents and interesting conversations. The idea that we were all getting together for a great meal with music and art warrants a sense of gratitude. Outside of our cozy dining room it’s a mad world, but at the end of the day, we’re all somehow connected by food. Everyone deserves a good meal and we intend that everyone leaves the dinner party feeling refreshed and hopefully inspired.

What’s the next step for Clandestino?

My vision is to create and offer programs where city high school students can have a better hands-on approach to cooking and farming, helping to create dishes for dinner parties with ingredients they grow themselves. There are already some great programs and organizations in Chicago that I am actively involved with and my work there is definitely something to build on.

At this point, Clandestino is still at the beginning stage; we are seeking contributions from sponsors and ideally, we’d like to establish Clandestino as a non-profit organization.

Pilsen garden turtle.

For more information on Efrain Cuevos, his underground dinner parties and Clandestino, visit www.Chefrain.com.

*This article was originally published in Shore Magazine.

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Last weekend, my sister performed in the  Geneva Theater Live Music Series in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Since I was accompanying her on a few songs, we drove up before the show to have dinner and check out what Lake Geneva had to offer. The answer: not so much, at least for this snobby Chicagoan. Lake Geneva is a typical midwestern resort town; screaming kids with drippy ice cream cones dominate the sidewalks and kitschy boutiques are crammed full of tourists desperate to buy something or another.  To me, Lake Geneva seemed to lack the quiet charm and sophistication that Harbour Country, Michigan exudes.

Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Always true to form, after schlepping around the streets and shops for an hour or so, we sought out libations. We found our way to Pop More Corks, a wine shop with an interesting philosophy behind it:

If you walk into Pop More Corks and browse the shelves you won’t see prices marked on the bottles. By design, David [Biegemann, owner] doesn’t want anyone to buy a bottle of wine based solely on price without having an exchange of thoughts and ideas about the wine’s best uses, its history, and something about the producer.

Luckily, we walked in just in time for a wine tasting. The store was packed (aah, how people love free wine!) but that didn’t prevent owner David Biegemann from making sure that everyone had a glass and a piece of information about the wine they were tasting. When we asked for a recommendation of a wine that we couldn’t find anywhere in Chicago, David quickly suggested a special Barolo that normally would sell for double the amount that he was charging.

Pop More Corks, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Tempura House, Lake Geneva, Wisconsin.

Maki, Tempura House, Lake Geneva.

For dinner, we walked down Center Street to Tempura House, Lake Geneva’s answer to Japanese cuisine. Shrimp and vegetable tempura were excellent, and the steak and chicken hibachi was not bad. My sister and her boyfriend ordered maki rolls, which looked divine. We sat on Tempura House’s patio and enjoyed the last few spurts of warm summer air and then went off to perform in a movie theater in Lake Geneva’s square.

More Maki, Tempura House, Lake Geneva.

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